Important Terms to Know About Bolts and Nuts Bolts and nuts are crucial components in machinery, construction equipment, automobiles and more. You can purchase screws, washers, fasteners and rivets at home improvement stores, to use alongside wood or cables. Choose from a variety of materials, such as stainless steel, chrome, aluminum and brass. To help you in your search here are some important terms to know about bolts and nuts:

U-bolts: Metal fixings that look like the letter U, with a pin or screw bolt closure that ensures a closed clamp.

Lock Nuts: A type of nut that fits into a piece of pipe and screws onto another pipe, joining the two together.

Screw Threads: Helical structures that switch between rotational and linear movement, featuring a ridge that wraps around a helix-shaped cylinder or cone. These are called a straight thread and tapered thread, respectively.

Lag Bolts: Heavy wood screws featuring a square or hexagonal head that are driven in with a wrench.

Cap Screws: Threaded screws that fasten and join parts together in construction and machine design. They are secured with screw threads.

Rivets: Metal bolts or pins that hold two metal plates together, inserted through aligned holes and hammered on one end to make a second head.

Carriage Bolts: Large bolts, used in applying wooden panels, that feature a round head.

Eye Bolts: Screws with a loop on one end and threads on the other, used to attach cables.

Flange: A rim or collar that juts out on a wheel or pipe, with the goal of strengthening an object in place or to another object.

Nuts and bolts are generally manufactured by factories in bulk. Hand made fasteners are rare and even most artisans purchase their fasteners from stores.

They are sold by hardware stores and home improvement stores. Specialist automotive fasteners such as connecting rod bolts may also be sold by auto mechanics. Salesmen need the ability to advise on the correct fastener to sell.

For example, rivets are used when permanency is desired. As an alternative to rivets, nuts may be locked by various means, some of which are more permanent than others. Washers are generally used in plumbing. Lag bolts and carriage bolts are used to secure wood and things to wood. Heavy duty anchor bolts are used in concrete. Most bolts are metal. Stainless steel, aluminum and brass are used. Chromed bolts are sometimes used when appearances is desired, often with cap or acorn nuts. Most nuts and bolts are sold in metric sizes.

Eye bolts are used to support items. Salesmen may advise on the safety of eye bolts in various circumstances. They may also give advice on the appropriate installation of bolts and screws and how to avoid stripping the thread. Most bolts have male thread on the outside. Hex and square nuts are each valuable in particular situations, as are flanged nuts. Screws have various heads. Hardware stores also sell socket wrenches and other tools designed to apply torque to nuts. For some uses, they can be hand tightened, and winged nuts are especially designed to be secured in that manner.

Nuts and bolts are mass produced by machine, but often sold at the retail level, in various quantities. Salesmen need to understand all the different types and their purposes.